3.45pm update

Turkey delays vote on US troops

In a fresh blow to US preparations for war in Iraq, the Turkish parliament today voted to delay until Saturday its debate on a deal to allow the deployment of tens of thousands of US troops.

After months of negotiations, which have dragged on while US warships carrying tanks and armour wait off Turkey's coast, a deal was expected today that would see Turkey receive $24bn (£15.2bn) in US grants and loan guarantees to help cushion its frail economy against the impact of a war it has long resisted.

After the leader of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP), Tayyip Erdogan, expressed confidence that a debate today would result in approval for the US deployment, it was unclear why parliament had decided to stall.

AKP MPs may have wanted to wait for tomorrow's meeting of the powerful National Security Council, a body that includes the country's political and military leadership. There could also be problems sealing the multi-billion dollar US aid package.

If the US deployment is approved on Saturday, 62,000 troops backed by 255 warplanes and 65 helicopters will be able to use Turkish bases for an expected assault across Iraq's northern border, a strategy which military analysts believe would back up a main invasion force from the south, significantly shortening any war and reducing US casualties.

But the Turkish public is overwhelmingly opposed to the country's participation in a possible attack on Iraq.

Aside from economic concerns and worries about a tide of refugees from the conflict flooding into the country, many Turks fear that the fall of Saddam could lead to the creation of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq, which in turn could boost the aspiration of Turkey's Kurdish population.

To prevent this, Turkey plans to send up to 40,000 troops into a 12 mile-wide buffer zone in northern Iraq in case of war. As part of its deal on military cooperation with the US, Ankara says it has also won assurances that Iraqi Kurds will not be allowed to make a bid for independence from Iraq, or to control its northern oil fields.

It has also secured AWACS surveillance planes and anti-missile defence units from Nato to protect against any reprisals from Baghdad for its possible role in a war effort. Air defence systems were due to arrive on Thursday at Diyarbakir air base, which would be a key US installation in a war.

Iraq's ambassador to Ankara, Talip Abid Salih El Duleymi, said yesterday that allowing US troops on Turkish soil would amount to Turkey entering a war. "Any country that participates in this war will face the moral and legal consequences," he said.

Ankara has now withdrawn its ambassador to Baghdad and closed its border crossing to northern Iraq.